1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a device for transmitting data in a contact-free manner between a data transmitter and a data receiver, and in particular to such a device suitable for use in transmitting data between a rotating part and a stationary part of a computed tomography apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Computed tomography systems are known in the art having a rotating part, which usually carries an x-ray source and a detector, and a stationary part, such as a frame, on which the rotating part is mounted. Electrical connections to the circuitry for processing the detector signals are attached to the stationary part, and it is therefore necessary to transmit data from the rotating part to the stationary part. In view of the relative rotation between the rotating part and the stationary part, the data connection cannot be permanent, i.e., hard-wired, otherwise the relative movement between the two parts will be impeded.
Heretofore, electro-mechanical structures, such as wiper rings and contact brushes, as well as optical means, such as light-emitting diodes, have been used to transmit signals between the rotating part and the stationary part in such known systems. In such known solutions, it is necessary to employ a number of receivers arranged successively around the transmitting part, so that one receiver at a time can receive data from a transmitter carried by the rotating part as the data transmitter rotates by the respective receiver.
It is also known employ transmitters which couple a signal into a divided waveguide, with the division of the waveguide being such that the two halves thereof are movable relative to each other, with the incoming signal being forwarded to a reception location. In the general field of signal transmission, it is known to couple a digital signal into an optical fiber, with the fiber being mechanically worked so that light emerges from the fiber laterally, and can be detected by a suitable receiver or reception element.